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Verizon aims to make this new service available to select dispatchers by early 2013. The service will be offered to Verizon Wireless customers with SMS capabilities.

The FCC’s long-term plans are more ambitious, extending beyond emergency texting. According to its 2010 announcement, the next generation of 911 services will include mobile videos and photos designed to provide first responders with real-time information, as well as automatic alerts installed in devices, enhancing the safety aspects of security cameras, highway cameras and personal medical devices.

In August last year, the FCC announced five steps to rolling out the Next Generation 911 (NG911), just one month before the tenth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.